MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI – Gas prices have begun to fall again after a brief rise that followed a sharp decline in prices earlier this season.

AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report on Tuesday indicated that the cost for regular, unleaded fuel is $3.39 in the Muskegon, Holland and Grand Rapids region. The price marks a 10-cent decline since last week. Current prices in the region mean that fuel remains lower than they were a month ago when prices were $3.62.

Statewide, consumers are paying an average of $3.44 per gallon.

GasBuddy.com, the real-time reporting site that publishes user-submitted data, suggests that Sam’s Club members are enjoying some of the Muskegon area's most inexpensive prices. The warehouse chain, as of Tuesday afternoon, was charging its members $3.39 for unleaded fuel.

Other filling stations in the city of Muskegon are charging from $3.44 to $3.51 for gas, with most prices hovering near the mid $3.40s range. Last week this time, many local stations were charging motorists prices in the high $3.50s.

In Whitehall, stations were charging prices ranging from $3.39 to $3.42 per gallon; in Hart, $3.42 or $3.43.

In Grand Haven, prices largely ranged from $3.38 to $3.45.

The average price of gas nationwide is $3.34.

Avery Ash, the D.C.-based federal manager for AAA, said on Monday that despite the slowing decline, the agency expects prices to fall further around the Christmas holiday season.

Ash suggested the national average could fall as low as $3.10, spurring some of the nation's lowest prices since February 2011.

He attributed the projected trend to “sufficient supplies, flat demand and the shift to cheaper winter-blend gasoline” — barring a hurricane or a circumstance that can disrupt production and distribution.